Hatzalah

Hatzalah is a volunteer emergency medical service organization serving mostly Jewish communities around the world. The original Hatzalah was founded in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City in the late 1960s to improve rapid emergency medical response to the community, as well as to serve the religious Hasidic community. The idea spread to other Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in the New York City region and, eventually, worldwide, and its branches function in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Panama, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Ukraine, and in 10 states in the US: California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Hatzalah members were among the 9/11 first responders on 11 September 2001, earning them great respect from their peers in the EMS community.